The first half of 2018 has been a historically bad year for crude oil tankers as earnings hit their lowest level on record in heavy loss-making territory, according to shipping industry association BIMCO. Earnings for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) in the first half of 2018 were as low at USD 6,001 per day on average, with a Suezmax tanker earning USD 10,908 per day … [Read more...]
Crude Surges to 3 1/2-Year High After U.S. Stockpiles Plunge
By Jessica Summers (Bloomberg) -- Oil rose to a level last seen in late 2014 after U.S. crude stockpiles tumbled by the most since September 2016. Futures rose as much as 3.4 percent in New York on Wednesday. Domestic crude inventories declined by 9.89 million barrels last week, while refiners boosted oil processing rates and exports soared to a record, the Energy … [Read more...]
New Pipeline Scrambles American Crude Imports & Exports
by Devika Krishna Kumar (Reuters) - The Diamond Pipeline has scrambled crude oil flows around the U.S. Gulf Coast and Midwest since it opened in December, cutting supply at the Cushing hub and hammering Louisiana oil prices. The line from Cushing, Oklahoma to Memphis, Tennessee, a joint venture between Plains All American Pipeline LP and Valero Energy Corp, has dented … [Read more...]
Biggest U.S. East Coast Oil Refinery Files for Bankruptcy
By Barbara Powell and Tiffany Kary (Bloomberg) -- Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC, owner of an oil refinery that supplies more than a quarter of the U.S. east coast’s crude refining capacity, filed for bankruptcy with a plan that could allow it to shed some environmental costs. The restructuring would allow PES to emerge a new company with the same stakeholders, … [Read more...]
Iraq Boosts Oil Export Capacity
by Ahmed Rasheed (Reuters) Iraq has increased oil export capacity from its southern ports by 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 4.6 million bpd after adding a new floating terminal in the Gulf, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in a ministry statement. “Oil export capacity have reached unprecedented levels after adding a new single point mooring with an additional export … [Read more...]